University School of Nashville

University School of Nashville
Location: Nashville, TN
Coaches	Eric Mukherjee and Wilson Hubbell (HS), Richard Rosenthal (MS)
State Championships	2011, 2012, 2023, 2024
National Appearances	2011 HSNCT, 2013 HSNCT, 2014 HSNCT, 2015 HSNCT, 2016 NSC, 2019 SSNCT, 2015 MSNCT, 2021 HSNCT, 2022 MSNCT, 2022 SSNCT, 2023 HSNCT, 2023 SSNCT, 2023 MSNCT, 2024 SSNCT, 2024 MSNCT, 2024 HSNCT
Program Status	active
School Size	Unknown
NAQT Page	link

University School of Nashville, often abbreviated USN, is a private K-12 school in Nashville, Tennessee. They have active middle school and high school teams.

History

Origins

USN has been active since participating in the 2008 Virgilian tournament at Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet and has been a state-level contender since that time.

Coached by Pat Miletich, the team has been nationally active since they tied for 33rd at the 2011 HSNCT, led by Mark Arildsen. In the 2011 and 2012 National History Bowls, Mark Arildsen led USN to a t-5th finish in both years after losing to Adair County (2011) having second seed in the prelims and after losing to Hunter (2012 champions). They subsequently tied for 50th at the 2013 HSNCT.

Modern Era

In the 2022-3 season, the high school team recruited Eric Mukherjee, then a new faculty member at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, as a coach after Miletich's retirement. That year, under the leadership of Frederick Rudolph, the team won several tournaments, including Vanderbilt's SPOOKY and the 2023 Tennessee state championship. Nationally, the team achieved t-5th at the 2023 SSNCT, and t-49th at the 2023 HSNCT (their first playoff appearance since 2015).

In the 2023-4, the team also wrote the regular-difficulty Planetfall tournament, which was mirrored in several sites in the US and Britain. In addition to placing highly in several local tournaments, the team won a second state championship in a nail-biter against White Station, placed 4th at the 2024 SSNCT, and placed T-21 at the 2024 HSNCT.